Why all the focus on Josh Duggar?

[Justice]

The focus should be on the Duggar parents. They were the adults, responsible for all of their children, not just Josh. They are responsible for what happened after they learned about Josh's actions toward his sisters and other young girls. The parents did not protect the sisters, they protected Josh. In doing so, they conveyed acceptance of his behavior. They perpetuated the notion that women are not individuals, they are property of the father until they become property of the husband.

Their daughters are now being "pimped" out - one marries, the next one courts, one become pregnant, the next one marries, one has a baby, the next one becomes pregnant. You can see the cycle the parents have planned - they grow the family and extended family and the show keeps going. And the money. Ah, the money - the fake living without debt (because they have a reality TV show) which is unrealistic for the average person.

I am disgusted that the parents did not take action to protect their daughters. That they took deliberate and continued actions to protect their son from being held accountable for his actions. He was 14, a minor, but old enough to know better - and old enough to coerce or force himself on his younger sisters. The parents should be held accountable. The father campaigned for the US Senate and called incest a capital crime -- at the very time he was covering up his son's incest!!!

They created this storybook fiction of their life - filled with lots of children, older ones helping younger ones, tator tots on the cafeteria line - it is a myth. . A "do what I say, not what I do" life.

Some People watch it, they are persuaded by it and believe they are less worthy because they don't live like the Duggars. Guess what -- the Duggars don't live that way either. No one does. Its fake - more than that, it is a scam.

Who does this remind you of? Republican Party today perhaps? Live as I say, not as I do.

[PeaceNikki]

1. Because he is the abuser and was Executive Director of the FRC.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

2. It's certainly an intergenerational chain of abuse.

In LynneSin's OP, I posted a link to a story about Josh's father in law defending him by saying anyone would molest kids if they could do so with no consequences. To me, that suggests a strong probability that Josh's wife was molested by his father-in-law. Birds of a feather, seeking and creating victims.

[Kalidurga]

3. Well Anna was certainly quick to see his behavior as just one of those things boys do...

She doesn't seem at all shocked or horrified over Josh's behavior or his parents lack of concern.

[Bluenorthwest]

4. Josh is a 27 year old man who works as a professional hate monger with Family Research Council

I assume you wish to protect his image because FRC is associated with so many very mainstream religious groups and persons.

[treestar]

5. True. They seem not to care as much about their

daughters as the fact that this revelation messes with their brand.

[cheyanne]

6. Why did the Duggars agree to a reality tv show?

Inevitably the incest would come out . . .By their actions at the time of the molestation, they put their own good ahead of Josh's by not following the law. If they had the situation would have been over and done with . . .then in their blindness, they agree to a tv show about the family. Word for it: hubris, see Oedipus Rex.

[vankuria]

13. They did it for the money

and to spread their brand of religion to the masses. I also believe they never thought this would come out, thought they could "pray" it away and all was forgiven and would never come up again. Not sure about the dad, but mom is a very sheltered and isolated woman, doesn't think much beyond her own little world. Dad might be a bit more worldly but has a big ego and believed anyone involved would never let it get out, they are just "too special" for anyone to say anything against them.

[diabeticman]

7. Because in that culture of extreme fundie-ism. the man is the only important thing. Women are a

necessary evil. If it wasn't for the fact that you need them to have more men they would kill them. Yes, I ripped that answer from my wife but hit the nail on the head with it.

[MisterP]

17. also if you read between the lines it's pretty clear that they partly forgive Josh

because of a belief that any males are, inherently and deep down inside, all potential rapists

[Ex Lurker]

8. Give it time. This story will be around for a while NT

[phantom power]

9. It's not just the parents either, it's the primitive patriarchal religion they subscribe to

Abuse of women by men, sexual or otherwise, is baked right into the DNA. It's a feature, not a bug.

[KitSileya]

10. I think partly the focus is because here's rape culture where they can instead blame it on religion

So many have claimed that the Duggars' fundie religion is the reason why these sexual assaults were hidden away, and the golden son was never punished. However, the truth of the matter is that in very many families, be they atheist, Muslim, Christian, or Pastafarian, the victims are silenced and the perpetrators are protected. The reasons are many and varied - the parents can't handle the idea that their child is a victim, the accused is a famous celebrity (see Polanski, Roman and Allen, Woody), the family doesn't want to lose their standing in society, or because the family's livelihood depends on presenting a perfect facade.

Does fundie religion encourage abuse? Most likely, but pretty much any belief system where men have power over women does. The military, the police, the sports world, all arenas where men are lionized and women and children are second-class citizens have higher than average stats of domestic violence and sexual abuse. But in this case, the family is one that DU doesn't like, and the patriarchal culture is caused by something DU despises, fundamental evangelism, so DU has latched on to this case because it is "safe".

[erpowers]

16. I Disagree

The focus on Josh Duggar is not about opposing/hating religion. This is about the family's, including Josh, hypocrisy. It is also because Josh was 14 at the time of the incidents. At 14 kids can and have been charged as adults for crimes. It is believed that at 14 he was old enough to know better. Even if he and his supporters (so far mainly his supporters) want to claim he was just experimenting, he should have been old enough to know that he should not experiment with girls more than half his age and asleep.

DU has latched onto this case because both the parents and Josh claimed same-sex marriage should be banned because it caused child sex abuse. This was done while this family knew that Josh had abused multiple children. Many DUers are angry because this family constantly promoted itself as a model family and holier than thou. Now it comes out that one of there children abused multiple girls and they covered it up.

[Farmbrook]

11. Why all the focus on Josh Duggar? - just ask all the 12, 13, 14, and 15 year olds in prison

or in the juvenile justice system. Why didn't the justice system focused on their parents instead of imprisoning these minor children. The simple answer is that poor people and minorities get to go to jail unlike the Josh Duggars of this world. Until the justice system is fair we on the other hand will continue to focus on Josh Duggar or until the young poor kids and kids of color are allowed to go free. Bottom line Josh should be in jail too.

[JayhawkSD]

12. It's about money.

The Duggar family wanted to get rich, and being on television gave them that. The Family Research CDouncil is a splinter group of freaks that is more about accumulating money than it is about anything else, and having a freak like Duggar attracted publicity and got them more money. None of the "meaning" of any of this has any actual meaning. They are all just grubbing for money and do not care how filthy they have to be or appear to be to accumulate wealth.

[TNNurse]

14. I want help for the girls.

Jail time for Josh, the parents and any law enforcement/"church" members and anyone who knew and did not report.

[Avalux]

15. Because he's an adult, a hypocrite, and representative of his family's dysfunction.

It all stems from Dad; don't think for a minute that Mom Duggar has any say in what's taught to those kids. Now I am wondering if the other male Duggars have done the same thing as Josh to their sisters. That family's religious beliefs are all about male superiority and using women to breed and have offspring. They don't view women as equals, so it's not a stretch for the young males of the family to think they can do whatever they want, including sexual experimentation with their sisters.

I hope that stupid show gets cancelled, and an investigation is initiated into whether or not this was isolated to Josh, or if incest is a systemic problem in that family.

[libdem4life]

18. Josh is the Scapegoat. Remember, he was "blanket trained". At what point does he

leave that tragic imprinting behind?

His parents are the responsible parties...as I've said many times here...every adult in Josh's life were failures. He was groomed to do just what he did. He didn't wake up one day and suddenly decide to do these horrible things. It doesn't happen. There were no consequences, which actually means it's OK.

People do not understand the deep wound of incest. It's secret, it's humiliating, it's an addiction to power and control punishment, and it's multi-generational. If Jim Bob wasn't a part of it, there would have been different results...likely wouldn't have happened at all.

This was just the "blanket training" all grown up.